Category: Opinion

Without doubt, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s greatest inner gift is the uncanny ability to deploy native intelligence. Some people rarely talk about it because they didn’t see it coming! Of course, that’s why people didn’t see him coming! Not even the former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Maybe that’s why ‘Balogun Owu’ keeps fighting him like a wounded cobra.

The most brilliant asset that Tinubu represents to Nigeria lies in his antecedents in government and public administration. His pattern creation is legendary. His management and structure sustenance is remarkable. Nigerians are therefore assured that if he flows from what used to be him, it shall be well! That’s what gives everybody peace because he is above religion. He is also above tribal sentiments. Instead, the ‘Asiwaju of Lagos’ is about functional competence. That’s why Lagos is still standing; otherwise, the world would have forgotten about the ‘Centre of Excellence’. From what we can see, the president is handling Nigeria like his own organization. That means he would stop at nothing to add personal value to the survival of the nation without the negative impact of personalization. He has done it before! Tinubu would have owned Lagos, if that had been his ambition, or desire!

Tinubu understands and appreciates qualification. Is it therefore any wonder that he has selected people of verifiable track records and pedigree? Even his worst enemies know that he can only bring competence to the table. In other words, you can’t be among Tinubu’s gang if you are not qualified. Thank God the days of nepotism are gone! Welcome to competence! These days, being connected to the president is not enough to secure an appointment! But exceptional competence is; because the ‘Jagaban of Borgu Kingdom’ is the chief head hunter; and a generous one at that! That he is also from the corporate world makes everything easier for him. So, Nigeria, congratulations!

A 40-year-old Nigerian would know that, in the last 40 years, Henry Dele Alake has remained a consistent media guru. That should count for something! Between 1999 and 2007, Alake was Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State. At one time or another, he had been a Senior Editor with the defunct Concord newspapers and Managing Director of Continental Broadcasting Services (CBS), owners of Television Continental (TVC), Adaba FM and 102.3 Max FM. That man is now President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy. 

Same goes for Adebayo Olawale Edun, who is now Special Adviser to the President on Monetary Policies. Without doubt, Edun has for a long time been one of Tinubu’s inner caucus guys; and he remains constant and relevant. He was a two-term Commissioner for Finance under Tinubu as Governor of Lagos State. It was under his watch that the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state doubled. Until his appointment, Edun was the Chairman of The Nation newspapers.

Olubukola Arowolo Verheijen (Special Adviser, Energy) and Hadiza Bala Usman (Special Adviser, Policy Coordination) depict consistency and professionalism. Obviously, their accomplishments in life have again shown that gender and/or tribal bents can never be cogs in the wheel of progress, if one is determined. Alas, Mr. President noticed that; and offered them appointments. With this, Tinubu may be setting Nigeria back on the path of merit; and that portends big hope for the common man.

In 2010, Zacchaeus Adelabu Adedeji formally joined Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) as a member. I was the prestigious Group’s Administrative Secretary at the time. Though he was the youngest among my bosses, Adedeji was close to all without exception. He was there for all! He was also there for me; and I remain eternally grateful!

For me, two rare events have continued to define Adedeji. The first was in 2010, when he saw me along Alausa-Secretariat Road in Lagos, trekking to the Magodo-venue of the ARG meeting. The affable, consummate technocrat alighted from his car, ran up to me and asked, worriedly, why I hadn’t owned a car, judging by my bosses’ status in society. He cited the case of his driver who was almost completing his house in a choice area. According to him, it’s only when your aides are happy that your joy can be full.

Read Also: My associates thought I was joking when I said subsidy was gone – Tinubu

The other occasion was in June 2011, when he invited my wife to his Agidingbi, Lagos-office and passionately pleaded with her to bear with a spouse who, despite putting so much to life, has found it difficult to cater to the needs of his immediate family. When, later that year, Adedeji was to be inaugurated as Commissioner for Finance under the Abiola Ajimobi-led administration, the Iwo-Ate, Oyo State-born, First Class graduate of Accounting extended an invitation to me as one of his guests. And I felt truly big! Such is the character of the man who has just been appointed as President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Revenue! Indeed, like attracts like!

In a country where politics is bereft of ideology and politicians are in deficit of ideas; in a universe of lies where too-Christian-than-Christ and too-popish-than-the-Pope spinners have won laurels, Adedeji comes about as a simple, cultured mentor with the visage for the future and eyes on how to actualize a vision. He is a man of intelligence, integrity and industry. That’s what his antecedents show! For the younger generation, Adedeji’s popular connection and scientific approach to life represents a silver of hope and dreams of a better future.

If morning defines the day, one prominent feature of Tinubu’s government is that Nigerians will no longer have to entertain moonlight tales about the waste and impunity that dominated our immediate past like an annual festival break or let the flourish of trumpets that heralded this administration into office become “normal activities in our society”. Imagine a Tinubu administration that will have to contend with loan repayment or rescheduling alongside other challenges like insecurity, inflation and unemployment! Added to these are oil theft which is on the rise and a country that’s teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. From all indications however, the president’s solid appointments strategy has taken care of a larger chunk of Nigerians’ problems: nepotism, tribal slushiness and celebrated incompetence. Henceforth, less headaches, less argument, less blurred visions; but more visible and plausible articulated goals for the country. Now, Dreamer Nigerians can come forward and relate the contents of their dreams in a way that an ordinary man on the street will comprehend!

When Moses told Pharaoh that he wanted to take the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, he (Pharaoh) asked Moses to promise him that he would not go far! Fortunately, Nigeria is not the land of Egypt harbouring the Israelites as slaves. So, we expect Tinubu to go as far – and as fast – as he can to resolve the socioeconomic logjam and shameless opulence currently troubling Nigeria’s Israel. A hungry man is an angry man and an angry man is a violent man! Students of the French revolution will also agree with yours sincerely that, since a violent man has nothing to which he owes his existence, woe betides anyone who attempts to test his will. The more reason Tinubu’s team must depict the reality of the mirror in the sun, particularly now that it’s only ‘corruption that is fighting back’. A fightback involving physical hunger may be more devastating than one may perhaps ever imagine!

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

•KOMOLAFE wrote in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)

By Nikky Attah

A lot of Nigerians said that it was long overdue when the news came that President Bola Tinubu had axed Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Over confident and arrogant, Emefiele captained the Central Bank like some kind of an emperor. He was heartless, dismissive and his monetary policies caused the needless death of very many Nigerians.

In fact, there was much rejoicing on social media when it became known that the DSS had further picked him up, and taken him into their custody for questioning.

For Emefiele, whose scorecard was already poor, he only capped it all with his ill-timed currency swap policy that even ended up as a vanishing act!

When he came on board as Central Bank Governor, the naira was going for $1 to N170 on the parallel market. Shockingly, at the time of his exit, a dollar cost N800. The interest rate at the banks climbed high during the period, and inflation rate was officially put at twenty two and a half percent. In actual fact, Nigeria fell into what economists term spiralling inflation.  Each time one goes to buy a regularly purchased item, one would have no idea of the price deferential – the only sure thing would be a price rise.

However, rather than formulate policies aimed at tackling those ugly indices, Emefiele was all the while concerned with financial honey pots like the Anchor Borrowers scheme.

Here, instead of giving the available finance to the actual farmers across the states, he busied himself going from one state of the nation to the other – visiting and hobnobbing with the state governors!

I want to ask: were the governors the ‘Borrowers?’ Or, were they the ‘Anchor’?

Indeed, by the time Emefiele’s first term came to end, a lot of Nigerians expected that, with his poor performance, he would definitely be dropped. To the disappointment of many, former President Muhammadu Buhari handed him a second term in office.

It was then that the man Emefiele went haywire.  He cracked down on the already existent cashless policy.  But this was done without any commensurate boost to the network.  Thus, transactions, no matter how big or how small, were carried out in tears.

But while Nigerians groaned, he waxed stronger and wealthier. For instance, during the COVID-19 lockdown, while airports were closed to the generality, the CBN Governor flew his family out on a private jet to the Caribbean islands, where he owns a mansion.

It was there also that he celebrated his 60th birthday with pomp. Nigeria’s billionaires as well as some top government officials flew out there for the lavish party.

Towards the end of 2022, in the run up to the 2023 general election, Emefiele announced that the last day of the year would be the final day to use the currency currently in circulation. He informed Nigerians that new notes would go into circulation while advising all to adopt the cashless policy, and pay in all existent currency to the banks.

Read Also: Court orders SSS to grant Emefiele access to family, lawyers

For me, this came as a rude shock. Was this not the same CBN Governor whom Nigerians had appealed to about the need for more N100 notes in circulation? But the CBN boss only gave a dismissive command that all N100 notes should be accepted in whatever state as there was no money to print more.

This was very unlike his predecessor in office, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. During his tenure in office, there was a time that the N200 note became scarce, and out of circulation.  Nigerians spoke out, and the then CBN Governor acted promptly.

But here was Emefiele who lacked funds to print sufficient N100 notes, but had enough to change the entire notes of the country’s currency.

All the networks, predictably, became jammed nationwide.  People travelling to various states were trapped, with a fuel price hike also announced in the same period.

The worst of it was the new currency was not available in circulation! The banks resorted to giving N20,000 maximum to those customers who could queue at 5am, then wait all day for it.

That callous, ill-timed policy had Nigerians crying and wailing.  Emefiele was adamant and insisted there was no going back.

The policy brought not only debasement and torment, but even death, to many. Imagine having to go round everywhere in search of where to buy your own money!

Hospitals bluntly refused to accept transfers during that period, insisting on cash payments, even for emergencies and those slated for surgical operations.  The outcome was that many Nigerians died after being refused treatment, even as their anxious relatives developed health complications like hypertension, while running around in search of the elusive currency notes.

At the height of the nation’s suffering, Emefiele came on national television to announce that the policy had come to stay.

Then, about a month into it, the same CBN boss announced a policy somersault, asking people to begin to accept the old currency which, of course, had then become scarce.

The bitter taste of the Emefiele administration is still fresh in the mouth of all Nigerians, rich and poor. And his removal is one of the greatest reliefs of the Tinubu administration.

Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has been supporting a rogue militia group in Sudan. In order to keep migrants at bay Europe has ignored the growing threat. Mohamed Suliman writes.

War broke out in Sudan last April between the Sudanese National Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia. There have been many casualties in addition to the destruction of buildings and airplanes.

Earlier in June, in a bid to strengthen its political position, the RSF militia leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemeti, sent a political advisor to tour key European countries, aiming to influence decision makers. He promised to keep the immigration control service provided by the militia active. The militia even hired PR companies and journalists to polish its image in Europe.

Given the insidious relationship between the RSF and the Wagner group, backed by the Russian government, European countries supporting Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression should not accept any offer by the RSF militia, which would help legitimize it.

The RSF is a rebranded name for the Janjaweed militia, known for its atrocities and war crimes. It was utilized by the ousted regime in areas such as Darfur, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile. It was officially formed in 2013 when the parliament passed a law that organized its activities.

The militia, headed by Hemeti during those years, was engaged in countless human rights violations, which included destroying and burning villages in Darfur, killing peaceful protestors in Khartoum, unlawful detention of activists, and sending children to fight in the Yemen War on behalf of the Saudis.

To “restore its grandeur,” pro-regime Russian “thinkers” are preparing their society for the unthinkable – the first-strike use of nuclear weapons against the United States.

Its violations included looting residential areas, using churches and hospitals as shields, and raping women for days after taking them hostage.

Over the years, the RSF militia has been aiding the EU in controlling migrant flows by means of the Khartoum process, an initiative between Europe and governments of countries in the migration route from the Horn of Africa. This partnership functions is by providing governments with funding and logistics.

The RSF militia established several detention camps for this purpose in Sudan, and many humans rights groups have criticized the militia’s unfair treatment of those migrants.

The EU has publicly denied these allegations and even announced the suspension of cooperation with Sudan in July 2019, fearing it might be used to suppress peaceful protesters. Nevertheless, some countries, such as Italy, appear interested in continuing their collaboration in disguise.

The RSF militia has also developed strong ties with Wagner, the notorious Russian mercenary group. Indeed, both parties have been trying to keep this relationship from any scrutiny.

In April 2023, the Wagner group denied any involvement in Sudan. Still, the group offered to mediate a stop to the war. By the same token, the RSF militia also published an official statement rejecting any links to the Wagner group, despite ample evidence proving otherwise.

Wagner’s presence in Sudan started in 2017 following a meeting between the deposed Sudanese president and Putin. Wagner’s companies, M-investment and Meroe Gold, have been operating in Sudan. They have been receiving special treatment from the military leadership and facilitating the smuggling and transfer of Sudanese gold to Russia, which is trying to circumvent the sanctions imposed on it after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The military cooperation between the RSF militia and Wagner mercenaries comes in different forms. During the first days of the war, an investigative report by CNN revealed that the Wagner group facilitated the transfer of military aid from Gen. Khalifa Haftar in Libya to the RSF militia. The military support included surface-to-air missiles that would help the militia to balance out the dominance of the Sudanese army over the air.

Read Also: Sudan army suspends participation in Jeddah ceasefire talks

Wagner was also accused by the US and French Intelligence of shipping anti-aircraft guns and light weapons to the RSF militia from the Central African Republic, where the two groups had fought one another.

The RSF militia also supports the Russian government politically and has endorsed its unjust war against Ukraine. Hemeti arrived in Moscow just one day before the invasion. Talking to the media, the militia leader said openly that Russia has the right to act in the interest of its citizens and protect it borders, and the whole world should realize this.

Some analysts believe Hemeti took $30 million worth of Sudanese gold with him and signed a new deal with the Russians. This visit was attacked by many civilian leaders who think it will help in the isolation of Sudan.

Hemeti later welcomed the construction of a Russian naval base in Port Sudan, the strategic city on the Red Sea, in the east of the country.

Europe, for its part, has appeared to be concerned over the growing influence of Wagner in Sudan, but not its ties with the RSF militia. Yet the two issues are fundamentally intertwined. For instance, in March 2023, the EU decided to impose sanctions on Meroe gold because of activities that endanger international peace and security.

Most recently, a former Tory leader called upon NATO to cut off Wagner’s access to Sudanese gold, Indeed, Wagner chose to gamble and back the RSF militia in this war, knowing that its future in the country depends solely on its militia taking power.

It’s now time for Europe to make a decisive, practical and moral decision in regard to its relationship with the RSF militia. It should not normalize the existence of a militia that jeopardizes peace and stability in the country and region, and whose leader has threatened to throw the whole country into the chaos if anyone seeks to integrate his troops into the national army.

Most importantly, Europe should not shoot itself in the foot by permitting and supporting, even indirectly, one of Putin’s most trusted allies on the African continent.

•This article was first published in www.kyivpost.com with the headline ‘Wagner in Sudan, Europe Turns a Blind Eye’.

• By Nnaji Jekwu Onovo

In his inaugural address on 29th May 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced that Petroleum Subsidy is gone. This hit Nigerians as thunderbolt, and sent shock wave across various sectors of the economy. The bitter pill was a complete departure from the conventional inaugural speeches by his predecessors, usually couched in motivational and moral lifting statements. His was a shift from the norm, and probably the sign of more changes in the way government business is done. Analysts, commentators, and conspiracy theorists including doom’s day prophets took over the airwaves, supporting, opposing, criticizing, eulogizing, explaining, or condemning the statement. President Tinubu made the statement, affirming the decision of the immediate past administration, as captured in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. The Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 (PIA or “the Act”) was signed into law in August 2021. The law states that six months after the enactment of the PIA, petroleum products, particularly PMS must be priced at market rates. So, the subsidy regime ought to have ended in February 2022. However, President Buhari administration through an enactment by the 9th National Assembly extended the subsidy regime to June 2023. So, President Tinubu’s speech is in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

At the heart of the deregulation of the downstream sub-sector is the controversy over appropriate pricing of petroleum products in Nigeria. The extremes have been whether the prices should reflect their full cost or contain subsidies, especially against obvious abuses and sharp practices in product sourcing and distribution.

The signing of the Act in 2021 brought to a close a 20-year effort to reform Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, with the aim of creating an environment more conducive for growth of the sector and addressing legitimate grievances of communities most impacted by extractive industries. A lot has changed in the sector domestically and globally since the reform efforts began. One of such changes is that concerns over climate change have fueled aggressive efforts to reduce global consumption of fossil fuels—driving divestment from oil and gas by companies, institutions, and countries. PIA is not the magic wand we need to grow the economy. Quite, lots of money will be saved from the cancelled subsidy, but these savings should be channeled to encourage productivity in other sectors of the economy especially agriculture and solid minerals.

Nigeria economy before independence in 1960 was characterised by the dominance of exports and commercial activities. There was no viable industrial sector. After independence, agriculture continued as the mainstay of the economy. In spite of fluctuations in world prices, agriculture contributed about 65 per cent to GDP and represented almost 70 per cent of total exports. Agriculture provided the foreign exchange that was utilised in importing raw materials and capital goods. The peasant farmers produced enough to feed the entire population. The various Marketing Boards generated much revenue, the surplus of which was used by government to develop the basic infrastructure needed for long term development. The main thrust of policy was to maximise the benefits of the export-led development strategy. President Tinubu administration can do better, if he has the political will to diversify the economy.

The solid minerals sector in Nigeria has long been treated as the poor relation of the oil and gas sector. Compared to the level of investment and development in oil and gas extraction – which has grown exponentially since Nigeria joined the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1971 – mining activity has suffered stagnation, and even decline. There is need to broaden the national economic base by increasing the non-oil sector exports so as to build in structures that will ensure Nigeria’s lasting socio-economic growth. The intentions of past administrations to develop the country’s mineral resources were always enunciated in various Development Plans but were never backed by positive action. President Tinubu can do something better in this sector, if only he will.

Much greater investment in physical, human, and institutional capital is clearly needed to boost productivity and raise competitiveness. This should be supported by structural reforms that tackle constraints on entrepreneurship and that improve the business climate. At the same time, spending should be at a measured pace. This will safeguard macroeconomic stability, which includes maintaining the real exchange rate at a fair level.

Once upon a time the largest source of foreign exchange in China was the proceeds of oil exports to Japan. The Chinese soon realised that oil is not the engine of any economy; it is only a lubricant, a means to a larger objective. The Chinese economic “invasion” is a story often told and well known yet can hardly be emphasized enough. China lifted hundreds of millions of its people above the poverty border and in the midst of the great recession in 2009, China surpassed the United States of America as the largest automobile market in the world, outpaced Japan as the second largest economy on planet earth and is today the fourth largest producer of crude oil globally after Saudi Arabia, Russian Federation and the US – an inspiring tale.

Sharing a similar development focused sentiment, a former Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff, aptly said on the discovery of the super-giant presalt Tupi Field, (estimated recoverable reserves of between 5-12 billion barrels) that petroleum resources is a passport to the future if and only if its production creates a balanced synthesis of technological advances, social progress and environmental concern. Nigeria’s performance on all these developmental outcomes leaves much to be desired. 

By and large PIA portends neither salvation nor suicide for the Nigerian economy. Much more important than the PIA is our ability and willingness, as individuals and collectively as a nation, to legislate and enforce temperance and discretion as a moral code with less emphasis on unbridled “consumerism” and share-the-money mentality. No one is left in doubt that petroleum resources, as it is today in Nigeria, have no semblance of wealth. The country is as enviably endowed with natural resources as it unenviably rich in poverty.  “Crude appropriation” and excessive “rent seeking” impoverish a people.

• Onovo writes in from

Plot 18 whitesand avenue, lekki, lagos

TEL: 08184553078 EMAIL: jekwuonovo@gmail.com     

I am an angry Nigerian and those who know me must know why I have to be! As the pioneer Administrative Secretary of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), one of the major organizers of the famous ‘Occupy Nigeria’ in 2012, yours sincerely can conveniently align his thoughts with a parody in Yoruba which explains the situation Nigeria has found herself in the last 60 years. It is called ‘subu-sere’. Translated literally, it means ‘instability’. Of course, that’s why a Godwin Emefiele could imagine himself being a future president of Nigeria. It also defines the miraculous emergence and imposition of the so-called transport unions and their dreaded and untouchable leaders on a supposed Omoluabi society. But then, all these cataclysmic events and possibility of different backlashes are what the society must watch out for.

If we may ask, what’s really going on with the fuel subsidy regime? Well, this is a very big question but how the owners of Nigeria respond to it is the issue. Talking seriously, it requires sincerity, tact and straightforwardness, without which the country cannot move forward.

When public administration lends itself to dubious duplicity, it’s no doubt digging the future grave for the entire nation. Dubious political gladiators will only have to work a little to turn the situation around in their favour. The more reason it is incumbent upon the government to make public the beneficiaries of fuel subsidy from inception and let’s pay the Metropolitan Police to account for the money. As things stand, the list is not for everybody; and that’s the problem! So, let’s make the list official and public – if the government is serious about fighting corruption – as nothing will be in the dark any longer. We may not have to do meetings upon meetings, cultivate dialogues upon dialogues and caress disagreements upon disagreements to arrive at a sane conclusion, if the facts are true! Tragically, some people are feeding fat on this subsidy nonsense and they have become callous and inhuman. They don’t ever want to stop until they are dead. It’s like free money and they’d rather die than to let it go off them. If the Federal Government is serious, then, let us understand the historical exigencies that have led us to this pass. Through that alone, our answers to our glorious heaven may have been so graciously laid out. Economics is not rocket science. So, nobody should make Nigerians look like foolish people! For God’s sake, how can you appeal to serve only to turn around and call my mother a foolish woman?

What President Bola Tinubu will have to do about leading Nigeria is to ask the technocrats and the bureaucrats what Nigerians really want. If he wants to lead us into a glamorous, prosperous, sophisticated country, are Nigerians really ready? Are we poised for that kind of development or should we continue to struggle on the altar of fuel and concomitant subsidies? There are people who can tell Nigerians in minute details how we arrived here, who did what and society’s response to each government and its policies! If the Professors of History in our universities are dead, we shouldn’t hasten to look for another professor. Instead, let’s just look for some Ijebu women and we won’t be disappointed. Through that, we can build our economic history, failures and prospects. Such a historical exercise will also give us the policy history, attempts and effects.

Again, at what point did Nigeria actually lose the crowd and why do the people continue to sing the same old tunes and expect the dance steps to change? Why have we become so petty and ordinary that, when a man wears a cassock, or he is turbaned, we say he is holy? Take, for example, why is it that Lagos, with all its huge monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), has not become livable for the common man? Why has its N50 billion or so, generated monthly, not led to a reduction in rent or lower costs of food items in the state? How much is a measure of gari in Lagos, even, with its ginormous IGR? That the government continues to advance reasons towards making more money is noteworthy. But how has the removal of subsidies from kerosene and diesel benefitted the masses? Why do Nigerians still prefer leaving dear country to wash plates in other lands, despite all the huge bills and taxes being paid on seen and unseen items? Why should an unemployed man who manages to ‘japa’ from Nigeria and comes back, say, two years after, become the choice man for a professor’s wife?

Read Also: Finance Commissioners laud Tinubu on fuel subsidy removal

We are people with focused heritage but, unfortunately, the children care less for depth! We continue to talk about ‘market forces’, ‘prevailing rates’, ‘international best practices’ and all sorts of economic jargons without talking about our porous borders; certainly, without discussing much about the man out there who’s not a civil servant, as such, to be expecting pay rise, plus its concomitant effects. Wait a minute, should Paul Biya of Cameroon wake up on the wrong side of the bed tomorrow and sneeze, won’t Nigerians catch cold again? If somebody comes now and introduces a palliative measure that takes care of daily needs of the people in Lagos, whatever becomes the fate of Nigeria’s premium motor spirit (pms) and its subsidy may not be anybody’s business; not even the Tinubu presidency. Ayo Fayose has shown how the people can have water and forget the bigger problem! Well, that’s a story for another day!

For a long time, there have been institutionalised barriers between the leaders and the led. What’s happening is the reopening of those barriers. But again, what’s really going on in our country? The Americans asked themselves this question a long time ago and it actually helped a great deal in redefining that ‘God’s own country’. So, can’t society demand a workable modality with or without fuel subsidy? Right now, Nigeria is so troubled, so polarized and so devalued to the point of being held back in the zero state of destabilization. Yes, Tinubu wants to be the people’s something! What’s it? Is it that open? Does it make economic sense? If yes, why are the international monetary institutions jittery? Why are they not at peace with his policy pronouncements? If the president’s intention is economic buoyancy for the country, then who can be against it? So, Tinubu should ensure periodic appraisals, examining how far his policies and programmes are faring. That’s how to know a leader who knows his onions.

Let’s even consider the salient Bretton Woods institutions’ responses to all these crises. So far, they’ve been knocks on the government. The more reason Nigeria’s economic watchers like the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NISER) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) must come forward with detailed analyses of, and proffer solutions to Nigeria’s predicament. What’s also the position of our universities in all these? This isn’t the time for ‘sidon look’ philosophy. Now is the opportune time to scrap institutions that are not relevant to the needs of the people.

In conclusion, woe to the rhetoric! What Nigerians are looking for is the solution; the balm of Gilead; the restoring hope! Not just the wishy-washy, substance-lacking, wheedling words that are dead on arrival but the real solution, the philosophy of what works; and it is feasible! One can only hope that, this time, Tinubu would be up to the task. Nigerians can only wish him well.

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

•KOMOLAFE writes in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)

In recent days, there has been a growing agitation against the removal of subsidies, fueled by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s stance on not supporting petroleum subsidies. While my initial inclination was to support government subsidies for the sake of easing the burden on ordinary citizens, a deeper reflection on the sector and its players has raised crucial questions. This write-up aims to explore the underlying issues surrounding petroleum subsidies, identify the beneficiaries, and evaluate the impact on the sector and the economy at large. Furthermore, it highlights the missed opportunities to address the core problems and proposes an alternative approach for the utilization of funds.

Subsidy: A Facade Concealing Exploitation

When we delve into the question of subsidies in the petroleum sector, it is crucial to unravel the true nature of what we are subsidizing and understand the underlying reasons for its introduction. This examination leads us to confront the beneficiaries of these subsidies and shed light on how a small group of individuals has shamelessly exploited the system, effectively holding the entire country hostage for their personal gain. Their actions have perpetuated a cycle of dependency and stunted the growth and development of our refineries. At its core, the subsidy was initially introduced as a means to alleviate the burden on the ordinary citizens and make life easier for them. However, over time, it has become evident that the subsidy has evolved into a deceptive cover for exploitation. A select few, operating within a criminal ring, have manipulated and controlled the petroleum sector to their advantage. By keeping our refineries in a perpetual state of disrepair and inefficiency, they have ensured their continued profitability.

These unscrupulous individuals have manipulated the subsidy system for their own personal gains, exploiting it as a mechanism to extract exorbitant profits at the expense of the nation and its citizens. They have perpetuated a stranglehold on the petroleum sector, wielding their power and influence to maintain control over the flow of resources, while ordinary Nigerians bear the brunt of the consequences. Their actions have resulted in a dire situation where our refineries, once a symbol of national pride and self-sufficiency, have been reduced to a state of paralysis. This deliberate neglect has not only hindered our progress as a nation but has also left us reliant on imports, despite being the fifth largest producer of crude oil in the world. It is an economic paradox that exposes the extent of exploitation within the petroleum sector.

The consequences of this exploitation are far-reaching. Our nation, blessed with abundant oil reserves, is forced to import the very resources it produces, leading to a significant drain on our economy. The report released by DATAPHYTE, revealing that Nigeria spent over #13.5 trillion on petroleum imports in 2018 and 2022 alone, is a stark testament to the magnitude of this economic hemorrhage. These funds could have been utilized to develop our own refineries, foster job creation, and stimulate domestic economic growth. The control exerted by this criminal ring extends beyond monetary gains. Their actions have had a detrimental impact on the petroleum sector as a whole and the broader economy. The absence of functioning refineries has stifled technological advancements, hindered innovation, and impeded the development of a robust and self-sustaining industry. Furthermore, the reliance on imported petroleum products has exposed Nigeria to the volatility of global market forces, leaving us vulnerable to price fluctuations and supply disruptions.

The time has come for a collective awakening to the truth behind the subsidy facade. We must confront the exploitative practices and dismantle the stranglehold of this criminal ring. By doing so, we can liberate our refineries from their clutches and restore them to their rightful role as engines of progress and economic prosperity. It is only through such decisive action that we can break free from the cycle of exploitation and usher in a new era of transparency, efficiency, and self-sufficiency in the petroleum sector.

Nigeria, as the fifth largest producer of crude oil globally, paradoxically imports the same oil in refined form from other countries. This economic contradiction raises serious concerns. The report released by DATAPHYTE reveals that Nigeria spent over #13.5 trillion on petroleum imports in 2018 and 2022 alone. The impact of such capital flight on our economy is staggering. This raises the question of how our nation would fare if we had functioning refineries, enabling us to redirect those funds internally.

The Enormous Cost of Subsidy: A Missed Opportunity

The figures surrounding the cost of petroleum subsidies in Nigeria are staggering, revealing a missed opportunity of monumental proportions. According to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), an astonishing #13.697 trillion has been spent on petroleum subsidies between 2005 and 2021. This astronomical sum holds within it the potential to transform Nigeria’s energy landscape and bolster its economic growth. To put this enormous cost into perspective, one can consider what could have been achieved with such funds. With a fraction of this amount, Nigeria could have constructed three major refineries, each with a capacity to process 15,000 barrels per day. Collectively, these refineries would have been capable of producing over 1.350 million liters of refined fuel every day, empowering the nation to meet its domestic demand and even export excess fuel to generate additional revenue.

Read Also: Bicycle Day: Embrace cycling in midst of fuel subsidy removal- FRSC

Moreover, the scale of the subsidy expenditure becomes even more pronounced when compared to the budgets of vital sectors in Nigeria. In 2018 alone, the amount spent on subsidies surpassed the combined budgets for crucial sectors such as Health, Education, Power, Water Resources, Works, and Housing. This realization unveils the severity of this wasteful and unsustainable venture, which significantly undermines Nigeria’s progress and obstructs the nation’s path towards development. The impact of these misdirected resources extends far beyond the petroleum sector. The funds that have been poured into subsidies represent a missed opportunity to invest in critical areas of national development. With the immense capital spent, Nigeria could have made substantial improvements in healthcare, providing better medical facilities, equipment, and personnel. Similarly, the education sector could have benefited from enhanced infrastructure, resources, and educational programs, enabling the younger generation to acquire the skills necessary for a brighter future.

Additionally, the funds squandered on subsidies could have been directed towards initiatives aimed at improving power generation and distribution, addressing the chronic electricity shortage that hampers industrial growth and stifles economic progress. Furthermore, investments in water resources, works, and housing could have resulted in the provision of clean and accessible water, improved infrastructure, and affordable housing for Nigerians, all of which are essential elements of a thriving society. By continuing to channel substantial amounts of money into subsidies, Nigeria perpetuates a system that hinders its own development. These vast sums could have been deployed strategically to build a foundation for sustainable growth, fostering economic diversification, job creation, and enhanced living standards for all citizens. The opportunity cost of subsidizing fuel becomes increasingly evident when confronted with the multitude of transformative possibilities that the funds could have unlocked.

It is time to acknowledge the missed opportunity and redirect our focus towards a more prudent and forward-thinking approach. By reimagining the allocation of these resources and investing in critical sectors, Nigeria can break free from the shackles of wasteful expenditure and embark on a trajectory of sustainable development and prosperity for all its citizens.

A Sensible Alternative: Investing in Refineries and Public Amenities

Considering the astronomical amount wasted on subsidies, it becomes even more evident that a change in approach is urgently needed. A simple Google search reveals that building a modular refinery requires no more than $10 million. This astonishingly low cost highlights the feasibility of establishing refineries in Nigeria. To put things into perspective, the total amount spent on fuel subsidies between 2005 and 2021 could have financed the construction of two of Shell’s largest refineries, namely the PEARL GTL in Doha, Qatar. The PEARL GTL, completed in 2012 at a total cost of $18 billion, boasts an impressive combined capacity to produce 140,000 barrels of petrol and 120,000 barrels of gas every day. Imagining the transformative impact that such refineries could have on Nigeria’s economy and energy independence is truly astounding. It is evident that the exorbitant sums wasted on fuel subsidies over the years could have been utilized to build state-of-the-art refineries that would not only satisfy domestic demand but also position Nigeria as a major player in the global petroleum market. By embracing this alternative approach, Nigeria would break free from the shackles of dependence on fuel imports and the exploitative practices of a select few. The construction of modular refineries, coupled with the revival of existing ones, would provide employment opportunities, foster technological advancements, and promote local expertise within the petroleum sector. Redirecting the funds currently allocated to subsidies towards these refinery projects would not only ensure a reliable supply of refined petroleum products but also allow for the allocation of surplus resources to crucial sectors such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, and social amenities. The positive ripple effect of such investments would enhance the quality of life for all Nigerians, improve the nation’s competitiveness, and stimulate economic growth.

Conclusion:

The current subsidy system in the petroleum sector has proven to be an unsustainable and fraudulent endeavor that benefits only a select few. The realization that a modular refinery can be established with a mere $10 million and the knowledge that the funds squandered on fuel subsidies since 2005 could have built two of Shell’s largest refineries should serve as a wake-up call for a paradigm shift. By embracing the construction and revitalization of refineries, Nigeria can reclaim its position as a self-sufficient petroleum producer, reduce dependence on imports, and redirect funds to vital sectors that will promote national development. It is time to dismantle the fraudulent subsidy system, seize the opportunity for progress, and pave the way for a prosperous and self-reliant future for Nigeria and its citizens.

By Ogumah Andrew Segun

• By Tunji Olaopa

The older generations of political science scholars are already going to the place of the elders. And that is either for good or for ill. On the one hand, most of them definitely reached the zenith of their career and age, and paid their dues to scholarship and the career they chose and were committed to. On the other hand, the deaths of some of them, seem to leave a long generational gap in political science scholarship that appears to be getting wider. At 82, Prof. Frederick Eze Chikeziye Onyeoziri lived to a good old age, and yet his academic shoes are pretty big to be filled by just any scholar. Prof. Onyeoziri was a substantive part of my political science academic formation at the University of Ibadan. There was no way anyone offering the discipline of political science in the 1980s and 1990s could ever escape the empirical thrust of his teaching of political theory, or even his masterly handling of comparative politics and methodology.

Putting Prof. Onyeoziri in charge of comparative politics and methodology is essentially making him very fundamental to how all aspiring students of political science would have to take his straightforward and excellent teaching seriously in order to master how to think and become a student of politics. Methodology is very key to the transformation of political knowledge into substantive researches that key into the predicaments of societies and how they can be structured. With the combination of political theory and methodology in his academic care, Onyeoziri becomes very crucial in inserting students of political science into a subfield that is hardly taken seriously even by political scientists-the methodological framework that allows political scientists to question the assumptions underlying their approaches to politics.

The analytic orientation that Onyeoziri brought into the teaching of political methodology has a long trajectory that featured in the emergence of political science as a scientific discipline that pursues the objective of intervening between facts and values. The analytic orientation redirected the focus of studying and researching political phenomena-from the state to political institutions-away from moral philosophy and public administration into a value-free analysis of causes and effects that seeks for objectivity and scientific precision. To be a political scientist is therefore to learn how to think methodologically and scientifically. Thus, it was in Onyeoziri’s class (and one or two other revered teachers) that I came into contact with the methodology of comparative politics, and inevitably the defining and definitive analysis of Arend Lijphart on consociationalism and consensus democracy. Lijphart argues for the intervention of comparative method in the fundamental but highly limited quantitative and statistical analyses beloved by political scientists. Of course, the comparative method comes with lots of methodological difficulties. But then, Lijphart’s contention is that one cannot ever hope to achieve a balanced political analysis when one is not complementing the other.

With Lijphart’s idea of consociationalism, the comparative method becomes even more significant in the understanding of a plural and postcolonial state like Nigeria. And Prof. Onyeoziri guarded us all in mining this comparative methodology, especially when he took my class’ introductory course on Nigerian politics and government, where he deployed the then newly published unfinished text by late Prof. Billy Dudley under the same title as the teaching guide. With this course, I become all the more familiar with the challenges and advantages of the mixed methods-I was able to imbibe the analytic and empirical methodology complemented by historical and institutional details. One huge lesson from this is that in the final analysis, political science and all its methodological dynamics, theoretical sophistication and abstract inferences devolve significantly towards the analysis of governments and societies. And this is where Onyeoziri contributed the most to my maturation as a public administrator and institutional reformer. I was tutored in the analytical dynamics of articulating government functions and processes, and the methodological means by which policies could be outlined in ways that draw from comparative instances across the globe.

It is from this perspective of the connection between the field of political science, its methodological approaches and the understanding of government that we should equally situate Prof. Fred Onyeoziri and his lasting legacies in scholarship. We can say that it became almost inevitable that for a political scientist like him in the context of Nigeria’s postcolonial status, he would be drawn irrevocably to the national question and the challenges of national integration in Nigeria. From the Biafran War to Nigeria’s lopsided federalism, and from the theoretical exploration of consociational possibilities in Nigeria to the political dynamics of citizenship, Fred Onyeoziri demonstrated an acute understanding of the Nigerian state from theoretical and practical standpoints. Prof. Onyeoziri learnt consociationalism well. There must be a way to interject in Nigeria’s postcolonial cleavages some measure of analytic reflection that allows for a democratic and institutional framework of accommodation and elite relationship that crosscut across ethnic, religious and linguistic divides. Consociational democracy, at least in a country like Nigeria, must be founded on the structural integrity of federalism that allows the federating units to relate across their segmental cleavages. Federalism allows the state to deploy the comparative advantages of the federating unit as a collective mean by which to allocate resources that betters the quality of life of the citizens.

And in this regard, his classic textbook – “The Citizen and the State”-becomes a crucial reference material for understanding how a postcolonial state could relate with its citizens within a context where elite cooperation and accommodationist dynamics are lacking. Apart from a magisterial outline of the theoretical issues involved in the understanding of the concepts of the state and the citizen, Prof. Onyeoziri lamented the absence of a framework of civic virtues that ought to underlie the idea of civic patriotism that will draw the disparate ethnic constituents of the postcolonial Nigerian state together into an integrated whole. While recognizing the disruptive capacity of ethnic nationalities to undermine the civic nationalism of a state like Nigeria, Onyeoziri insisted that there is a need for a new political theory that will not be hampered by the traditional suspicion of ethnic nationalities as forces of instability. The national question remains the way it is because Nigeria’s ethnic constituents have always been regarded as centrifugal forces that are constituted to undermine the political stability of the state.

On the contrary, such a new theory must commence from the foundational platform of respect and recognition backstopped by the provision of infrastructural development and opportunities around which civic patriotism can be built. Within the new political theory, Onyeoziri argued, the state must make it unnecessary for the ethnic nationalities to remain the foundation of the good life which membership in the state ought to confer on all its constituents. This is the reason why Onyeoziri pitched his theoretical tent with Lijphart’s idea of consociational democracy and its accommodationist framework that seeks for elite cooperation in consolidating an ideology of national progress that will make them gamble on development for the sake of Nigerians. Elite nationalism often serves as the framework that allow the political class in any state to rally round an understanding of development that will undermine the virulent potentials of primordial sentiments from damaging the fabric of civic nationalism.

Prof. Onyeoziri was not just a political theorist who sits comfortably within the secluded space of the ivory tower and speaks detachedly about the Nigerian state and her postcolonial predicament. He took on the challenge of understanding the Nigerian state from the perspective of situating himself right within the raucous space of not only the public sphere as a public intellectual, but also within the political space as a politician armed with the understanding that theories confer on practice. From the platform provided by the Guardian newspaper, Prof. Onyeoziri communicated his informed perspectives about the state of the Nigerian state to Nigerians. And he brought that informed perspectives also down into the murky waters of partisan politics by joining the People’s Democratic Party.

Professor Frederick Onyeoziri represents the figure of a committed intellectual and academic-a political scientist whose analytic orientation in political theorizing enabled him to inject his empirical analyses into the understanding of realpolitik. We have now lost him, but his intellectual stature indicts not only the anti-intellectual dynamics that cocoon Nigerian politics off from enabling intellectual inputs. His political involvement also castigates the detachment of Nigerian intellectuals and scholars from the realm of politics. From his full and robust involvement in the public and political sphere, we can deduce an argument for a political science scholarship that is fully inserted into the concrete manifestation of political phenomena, rather than cowering in the rarified space of abstractness.

This brings to the fore for me the crucial significance of the political science scholarship of Fred Onyeoziri-the relationship between political science scholarship and policy-engaged research and analysis that could galvanise deep thinking about Nigeria’s policy architecture in ways that also harness talents and expertise within the town-and-gown contexts and communities of practices and service. Prof. Fred Onyeoziri’s scholarship represents a policy-research nexus whose imperative the post-2023 Nigerian state and policy analysis will ignore to its peril. It is within its framework that the requisite collective intelligence, policy creativity and knowledge-experience dynamics can be cumulated to get the basic of good governance right in transforming the lives of Nigerians. And Prof Onyeoziri contributed his quota. Political science scholarship in Nigeria has a lot to learn and relearn from him.